Dentists Cite Low, Slow KanCare Reimbursements

KSAL StaffFebruary 17, 2014

Some Kansas dentists say a low reimbursement rate and slow processing of KanCare claims are preventing them from accepting new patients covered by the state’s managed care program.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Manhattan dentist E. Hamrick Swan Jr. says the reimbursement rate for KanCare patients is about 40 percent of his fee. While he still takes KanCare patients, he said he has to limit the number of new ones he can accept.

A spokeswoman for Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s health programs says last year’s switch to KanCare included a requirement that rates couldn’t fall below 2012 levels.

But the executive director of the Kansas Dental Association says those rates haven’t gone up very quickly, either, while the cost to provide services to KanCare patients continues to rise.